Hidden Shadows
by Ivan Alias
Summary: A sequel to Conclave. There are more who are interested in this new threat...


Again, I own nothing. I don't even own this idea. It's based on Bombsquad's. Also, please realise that this is a story based on Bombsquad's original story. Just because it is like it, it does not mean that it is actually going on in the original story. Although, it would be nice if it did...  
  
And so, we begin with yet another, thrilling adventure in, but based on, the Far Flung Hope Universe.  
  
Kudos to anyone who knows where I got the names for the two missing dudes  
  
&&&&&&  
  
The last of the transports left the building. They left mostely on their own, in all shapes and sizes; groundcars, ornithopters, hovercraft... Anyone who watched them would merely surmise that regular people were leaving the building.  
  
There was one such watcher. But they knew there was nobody regular in that building. The person put the binoculars back into their pocket. With a small hiss, he jumped down from the platform, and headed towards an old- fashioned trike. The engine started with a throaty roar, coughing up plumes of smog and dust into the air. He turned it around, and headed off into the centre of the city.  
  
The driver backtracked and weaved through traffic. Blind beggars drew back at the sound of the vehicle as it passed, leaving naught but a feeling of coldness behind it. The driver was on a mission from God. But not the God the Inquisitors worshipped...  
  
&&&&&&  
  
Five hours had passed since the driver left from his spying post. He had eventually stopped outside of an old warehouse, deep in the bowels of the city. He got off the trike, and walked into the building slowly, drawing a pistol as he did so.  
  
The door did not open, it more fell off it's hinges. The man cautiously stepped in, silhouetted by the neon hell that was in the street. Here, the sounds were muted, nothing moved. It was if nothing had been here before. The man drew back his thin lips, and stared at the dusty floor. Tracks were obvious in the thick layers. Somebody was here...  
  
He spun at a small sound, his pistol aimed. He saw who was there, and he sighed.  
  
"Bree, you should really let me know if you are here. I could've shot you."  
  
The figure smiled too widely. His mouth seemed to take up too much of his face. "Don't worry, Tryptych... My god protects me."  
  
Tryptych grunted, lowering the pistol and holstering it. He looked around in the gloom. "Where are the other two? Where's Posdnous and Truhgoy?"  
  
"They are not here at the moment..." the figure said, slyly. "Come, tell me what you have learned..."  
  
Tryptych stood back, and looked at Bree levelly. He wet his lips with his tongue, and began. "I learnt that there was a gathering of Inquisitors. They were debating about a battle which had occurred near Tau space." He paused, noticing Bree's sudden sneer of annoyance.  
  
"They were discussing about an unusual Xenos structure, a type of artificial planet..."  
  
Bree's eyebrows went up. "Really? What was this planet like?"  
  
"As far as I could surmise, it was some form of circular structure. Presumably, 'gravity' was employed using centrifugal force. On the inside of this structure, there was a habitable world. Something similar to Earth before the Horus Heresy."  
  
Bree's grin grew, revealing thousands of needle-like teeth behind his lips. "Go on... What was so unique about this structure?"  
  
Tryptych paced the floor, columns of dust building in his wake. "As far as I could surmise, this structure was a form of teleporter, that could move entire fleets in one go."  
  
"I assume that this device transported the fleet from one 'Halo' to another."  
  
Tryptych stopped at that. "Not really."  
  
Bree's grin fell, and a parody of a slight frown appeared on his face. "How so?"  
  
"This device did send fleets to other 'Halos', but not in this reality."  
  
"Come again?"  
  
"Apparently this device is used to transport beings from one reality to another. To make things worse, beings have now started using it with extreme gusto. An alien fleet actually utilised the device while the Navy was inspecting it."  
  
"I assume they were annihilated, non?"  
  
"Yes, they were. Here, however, is the thing that got everyone talking. Apparently, there were other humans."  
  
Bree stood up. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
Tryptych looked at Bree again. "This device also transmitted a message. A message from a human society not from our Earth, but from another. It seems as if there are thousands, if not millions of such human societies."  
  
Bree was looking at him with wonder.  
  
"That is what I heard." Tryptych held out his hand. "Now, may I have my payment...?"  
  
Bree blinked, then reached inside his pocket, and flung a bag at Tryptych's feet. "There is your fee of three thousand credits, Tryptych." Bree pulled one of his disquieting smiles. "Your information has been most illuminating." He looked around the warehouse. "Now, I must leave. Remember, I may need your services again." Bree flung a token at Tryptych, who caught it one-handed. "If I ever need you, that token will let you know."  
  
Bree waved his hand lazily, and withdrew into the shadows. Tryptych walked back out into the street, and headed towards his trike. He looked down at the token Bree had given him.  
  
It was made of a silvery, yet somehow warm, metal. One side was completely blank. The other seemed to be blank until it was tipped to a particular angle at a light.  
  
On it, was an eight-pointed star...  
  
R&R, please. 


End file.
